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That’s why I am so pissed when so-called “health” stores lie straight to my face and you should be too!

Do a quick search on any of these “health” store pages and you’ll see words like:

natural

organic

no artificial preservatives

non-GMO

no hormones

no antibiotics

and the list goes on.

And all these words and all these missions and slogans are designed so you do a couple of things. 1) You blindly pick up anything in the store and assume it’s good to put in your body. 2) Profit. Because at the end of the day, these companies will do anything to make money off of you. Even lie straight to your face.

How do they lie? Well in a number of ways like allowing carrageenan in food and still calling it healthy or actually allowing GMOs in their store as was the case here and here.

But perhaps the most frustrating lie is that they not only allow canola oil in everything but, at least with EarthFare and WholeFoods, they sell certified organic canola oil!!! Maybe I should be more pissed at the USDA for even allowing the certification in the first place but I’m not…my anger is directed towards the stores! Liars! All of them!

Kristina, how can this be a lie? I’m so glad you asked. Let me start by telling you a story followed by a set of riddles followed by some facts on canola oil.

Story: Trying to get my parents to go “100% natural/organic real food” is probably the hardest thing ever being that they both think I’m slightly over the top and a bit skeptical about the whole thing. But for me, it’s so important that they make the switch because I love them and care deeply for them. Second to my husband, my family is the most important thing to me and I hate to see them eating fake chemical laden CRAP. Anyways, so the conversation goes something as follows:

“At the end of the day….Canola oil has to come from something natural just like all oils.” my parents

“Oh really? Where does Canola oil come from?” me

“Um, a canola plant/seed.” my parents

“You would think…but that’s not the whole story.” me

Riddle: If coconut oil comes from coconut and olive oil comes from olives then canola oil should come from……..? If you guessed canola I would mark your test as incorrect…it comes from a rapeseed.

As if the name wasn’t already a little bit alarming the fact that the FDA banned it for human consumption (paragraph 4 in case you want to actually read the link) should make you wonder why we even decided to try to make something out of it. Put rapeseed right up there with poisonous berries or mushrooms.

Even with all this some scientists decided they wanted to try their hands at being gods and create an oil that was fit for human consumption…and the canola plant was “born” in the 1970s. Some Canadian scientists went into a lab and used “traditional” plant practices to create canola. Pause, what in the world seems traditional about something being created in a lab by man? Nothing is the correct answer. Top that with the fact that 90% of the canola crop is GMO and we’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Now we know that it’s manmade, farmers have only been able to grow it for the last 40 years or so because IT DIDN’T EXIST BEFORE THAT, it’s likely GMO, and 100% unnatural. It gets worse. The way they extract the oil and process it makes something already so horrible even more horrible as if it were possible. Click here to see an awesome video about how canola oil is made (fun fact: includes bleach…yummy!).

Want to know more about the glorious canola oil? It was originally called LEAR which stood for low erucic acid rapeseed but since that didn’t sell too hot they changed it to CANadian Oil Low Acid. They couldn’t keep the rapeseed name anywhere near the canola name or people may have never bought it in the first place.

I could go on to tell you all the other horrible health ramifications that come from canola oil but really you don’t need the information (you can research yourself if you really do) to know that when something has such a dark history, it should be nowhere near your body! And if you dare try to come at me with the whole “it’s heart healthy…helps with cholesterol ” crap, I will come at you with this: I’ve heard bleach kills cancer but we aren’t subscribing that as the cure now are we?

Do you see now how Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Trader Joe’s and many more places that sell anything with canola oil are lying straight to your face? Maybe I didn’t make it clear enough in my post.

How can they market something as organic when it was manufactured in a lab some 40 years ago? There is no such thing as organic canola oil.

How can they put it in everything and still market their store and ingredients as healthy and natural? What’s natural about a lab and some scientists? What’s healthy about something that is bleached before it hits the shelves? What’s healthy about inflammation?

I just cannot believe how they lie to you. I 100% can believe how they lie to you but I will not stand back and keep my mouth shut! Please stop buying canola oil….even the so-called “organic” kind. Please don’t believe the lies these stores are selling you.

Kristina

p.s. There are plenty more lies and plenty more oils to avoid, soybean for example, so do your homework.

I use olive oil, coconut oil, or butter/ghee when I cook. Think words like natural, whole, real, simple and it will help you eliminate most of the CRAP oils and foods consumed these days. Get back to the basics to truly live a healthy life!

The world is getting sicker by the day. You may think these are all unrelated crazy sick things happening in the world but I don’t. I see them as the world getting sicker, day by day, minute by minute.

Moving on to week 4 of my weight loss challenge which is still not panning out quite like expected. I should just go ahead and change the title to 10 weeks gain close to 10 pounds challenge since that’s what it has boiled down to. I’m just keeping it real guys.

I’ve been doing some research into my running as I may have mentioned in the last couple posts and I’ve determined that maybe running isn’t the best thing…for like…anyone…for like an over extended amount of time.

To sum it up: over-running, endurance training, can be very taxing on your heart, on your hormones, and may not be the optimal choice of exercise for overall health and I’m sure there’s more.

I know. I know. It’s all a lot to deal with but in week 5 I have cut back on my running to 1 or 2 days and for 20 minutes instead of 30. I’ve exchanged running for HIIT but I will discuss more of that in my week 5 update.

In short, research is showing us that endurance training like running may not be so hot for your thyroid and your heart. Your body can be overstressed by endurance training like such….too much stress = not optimal health and wellness. I am not telling you not to run or exercise. We NEED to do these things for our health but too much of a good thing may be a bad thing? Yeah, I think with endurance training it may be the case.

And when I think about in the most basic way it boils down to something like this in my head:

So, exercise = stress and too much stress can be bad for your body in any form. Does your body understand why it’s under all that stress when you’re running for so long?

So, I want my exercise to be as close to “natural” as possible as it can be. Back in the day before processed foods took over every shelf in the grocery store and we all became couch potatoes people didn’t go to the gym, walk, run, do jumping jacks, burpees, or workout videos and if they did walk or run or swim or whatever it usually wasn’t to “stay in shape” was it? It usually was like normal life that lead them to that point right? You had to carry your water to your village, you had to be outside in your garden, you had to run or die, you had to do this kinda stuff and it was normal. And, I would like my exercise to be as close to this as possible. So would it be normal for me to run…like 4 or 5 miles a day…just because? Most likely not.

So should your body be using all it’s glycogen stores to help you run long distances or was that storage there for another more practical reason?

And more thoughts go through my head.

Remember guys, this is a learning and growing blog. As I learn and grow I will share with you. If I’m wrong or right, I’m learning and growing and hopefully you are too.

Here’s how week 4 went for me.

I was so sore until Tuesday after my race. All I could bring myself to do was stretch and getting back to running was hard. I knew I could run but my mind told me I couldn’t. Was it hard for any of you after running a 10k to get back into routine?

Vanity is still winning in the fight against dry brushing. I just ran across an article on how good dry brushing is for you and I’m mad at myself for letting vanity get the best of me but I’m still not willing to destroy my beautiful summer tan. Does anyone know if dry brushing will hurt my tan? I wasn’t able to find a definitive answer online.

I went to EarthFare and Whole Foods and no wheatgrass to be found. Makes me mad. I only get my juices/smoothies/wheatgrass from one place in Tallahassee and that’s Axios and didn’t have time last week but I did get one this week (week5).

I’ll never get to bed by 10:30 I don’t think. Nor will I make the time for me to have a detox bath as often as I should. Since one-two times a month was my norm I wanted to up my game and I still have time to keep trying!

I did finally complete a one day juice fast this week (week5), go me and my hubby joined me! And my squat challenge is going nicely. Anyone else doing it with me?

Stay tuned for more updates next week!

And if you’ve missed the last couple weeks, check them out: week 1, week 2, week 3, and the post that started it all.

It’s time to do a follow-up post! Go check out my original post here in case you missed it.

This post is about extra wonderful crazy things you need to know about a menstrual cup.

Let me start by reiterating this: not all cups are the same, be sure to research and decide which works for you. For example, a friend said she tried the Soft Cup and hated it. Now, a soft cup is very different from a “normal” menstrual cup in a couple of ways. They come in disposable and reusable cups but the reusable ones can only be used for one period and the disposable ones for up to 12 hours. They also sit in a completely different place than a normal menstrual cup. And they are made of different material too. So all in all, my advice is to research, read reviews, and decide what works for you. I have the DIVA Cup and love it.

Here are some questions I had before taking the plunge into menstrual cup world/some questions I’ve been asked since:

Can you use the bathroom with it in? Does it hurt when you do? Yes, you can go to the bathroom in peace with it in! And no, it doesn’t hurt. You don’t feel a thing. You cannot feel it ever.

Can you swim with it? Um, yes. You can do anything you would normally do with a tampon BUT even better. In fact, I just went swimming with it and it was amazing.

Does it hurt to insert/take out? Nope. It takes a little used to, but if you have it folded properly (following the directions helps) it should go in easily and the same with taking it out.

Is it gross? Most things about your period are gross. But I like it a lot better than anything else. I found it to be less gross than tampons or pads. I don’t have to be reminded of all that is going on inside me until 10-12 hours….which makes things less gross. This past week I traveled and had to be away from a non-public bathroom for right at 12 hours. It was a huge relief to know I didn’t have to deal with changing it and cleaning it until I got home. Traveling with a menstrual cup is the bomb.

Does it leak? If you insert the cup correctly it does not leak. The key here is to rotate your cup 360 degrees to ensure the proper suction is created. I wore a panty liner the first time just to make sure. Once you get the hang of it, you’re good to go. Think of all the sheets, pjs, and underwear you will save when using the cup.

Exercise? Amazing for exercise. Amazing. Seriously. Take all those tampon commercials they show of the girls doing yoga and how awesome they look and feel and multiply that by a trillion and that’s what exercising with a menstrual cup is like.

What size? With the DIVA Cup you have 2 different sizes. One is for pre childbirth and the other is for post. Just make sure to do some research here.

Does it really save you money? Well, let’s see for ourselves.

Tampax tampons sell for .34 cents each on amazon. Your tampon should be changed every 4-8 hours. Let’s say you change it every 8 hours…3x a day. $1.02 a day. Let’s say your period lasts 5 days. So $5.10 cents every period. You should have 1 every month. This brings your total to $61.20 a year.

Always pads sell for .18 cents each on amazon. Your pad should be changed every 4-6 hours. Let’s say you change it every 6 hours….4x a day. $0.72 cents a day. For 5 days. $3.60 every period. For 12 months brings you to $43.20 a year.

And these numbers are super conservative if we’re honest with each other.

The DIVA cup, on amazon, sells for $27.19 or $25.79 depending on the size you need a year.

See all the money you could be saving.

What if it gets stuck? I was so nervous that it would get stuck and I would have to be rushed to the ER and they would have to perform surgery on me. But after using it I see that, from what I can tell, it’s nearly impossible to do this. The cup comes with a small stem on the end to help you when it’s time to clean and reinsert. You tug the stem just a little until you reach the base of the cup and then pull the cup out by the base. Even if the cup is inserted a little to high, where the stem is hard to reach, gravity will help you out.

How do I clean it? My cup recommends not to use vinegar (my trusted cleaner for EVERYTHING), castile soap, antibacterial soap, and more. I decided to buy the cleaner specifically designed for the cup (as well as hands, face, and body). The DivaCup Cleaner sells for $10.57 on amazon. This brings your total spent on your period in one year to: $37.76 (if you have to buy the more expensive of the two cups)which means you still save money.

Is it safe/dangerous? I discussed this a little in my original post. The risks associated with the cup are far less than those with conventional pads and tampons. It’s made from non-absorbent silicone. It doesn’t disrupt the natural cleaning and protective functions of your vagina nor does it disrupt your pH levels. TSS, GMO cotton, bleach, and harsh chemicals are all things you have to worry about with pads and tampons. Your specific cup should have more answers to this questions. As always listen to your body and consult a doctor…too…maybe.

There you have it. There are many more questions I’m sure and many more answers. Feel free to contact me if you have more.

Need more reasons to switch to a cup? Check out the original post or this quick handy post for links, videos, and reviews.

I am so happy to finally have the time to post! I can see why people devote their whole lives to blogging cause it really takes some effort. Week 3 of 10 week 10 pounds challenge was intense to say the least.

I ran my first 10k! Yes, I ran the whole thing and yes, it felt amazing. Oddly, the first 4 miles were the most intense of them all, the last 2 were a breeze and I felt like I could keep running forever!!! But after running for over an hour I was glad to finish in 399th place…. Can I get a hallelujah? Word on the street is the first guy finished in under 35 minutes which is clearly pure insanity.

Hmmm. So now my 10 weeks 10 pounds challenge has some interesting dynamics to work out since I’ve gained some weight since I started. I’ve done some research into why this could happen but let me first tell you that this is why I do not own a scale in my house and I rarely, if ever, weigh myself. I’ve gained weight but I’ve been running for over a month. I’ve gained weight but my clothes fit and feel the same. I’ve gained weight but my food habits haven’t changed and it’s hard to confirm by usual standards, since I told count calories either, but I am certain I am not eating a crap ton of more calories to make up for all my running. In fact, people would probably say I am eating too little but I would say, get out of my face, I eat plenty. At the end of the day, I listen to my body and go by that not what “people” say and you should do the same.

Anyways, I don’t own a scale and I hate them because of this exact phenomena. The scale is just a number and it tells very little of your true health. Even for me, who is simply doing this challenge just for the heck of it, the number psyched me out. I tried not to let it get to me but it kinda does. Nothing feels super great about gaining weight, especially when you cannot tell if toning is the end result or if you’re just gaining weight. Sure if I had gained weight and whole body looked like Jennifer Anniston I may feel better but it doesn’t.

I think it’s a good lesson to remember this:

Moving on. I did do some digging into why I had gained weight mainly because I think it’s important you learn and grow and I wasn’t going to sit back and gain weight and not know some reasons why.

Reason number one: muscle. I could be gaining muscle…but how much muscle could I really have after a month of running and toning? Also, it is most definitely not that muscle weighs more than fat. A pound of fat is a pound of fat and a pound of muscle is a pound of muscle. Cause a pound is a pound. Instead, fat takes up more space (volume) in the body which makes you look….fat. Muscle does help you in the calorie department and may help you look and feel thinner.

Reason number two: glycogen stores. What is glycogen? Simply put, it’s glucose your body has stored and is ready to use when energy is needed for the body. Think of it as your reserve fuel. Guess what else? It doesn’t need need oxygen to provide energy. All these things sound important to running right, right? Yes, and it’s very important and needed to successfully run but it can also lead to weight gain through water retention.

Reason number three: just because. Because somethings just happen. Because I haven’t weighed myself since last week but I could go weigh myself today and have lost all the weight and that would be that. Our bodies are amazing and sometimes things happen just because.

Moving on to the actual point of this post which is to update you on week three.

Look, I figured out how to make it readable…so proud. Anyways, I managed to get my detox bath in, hooray! Also, as you can see I haven’t been on point with my dry brushing and this is because of one word: vanity. Yes, it’s summertime now and I want to hold on to my tan…. I’m nervous dry brushing will get rid of it but need/should do more research.

Okay, so week 4 is almost over. I’m on vacation, enjoying the beautiful sounds of the gulf and drinking green juice by the sea. Can’t wait to update you on some other interesting fun facts soon.

I’M THE WORST BLOGGER EVER. This week has been crazy and this post has been in my draft section since Monday morning. Moving on.

I just have to start off by saying that my poop post really hit it off. I hope this means some 100 people are now experiencing some sort of life change for the better! Feel free to subscribe to my blog via email so you can keep up to date with all my postings and rambling!

In case you missed it, I am attempting to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. If you don’t want to go back and read the original post, the gist is that I am 10 pounds shy of what my-ultimate-want-to-be-this-weight-goal-thingy…it’s not that my weight now is at all unhealthy but just that I had a goal in mind and I want to see if I can reach it. Week one is done and I moved onto week two with my head lifted high but knowing that I needed to step up my game with all my goals. Well, I did better in some areas and worse in others but this blog is about honesty and so this is what week two looked like.

Can you see that chart? I am so bad at the whole technology thing. I will work on it for next post.

A couple of notes on the above chart:

Fast food includes restaurant foods and no, I did not limit or share it with anybody. While in Atlanta I feasted on some delicious Cuban, Indian, and Jewish cuisine and I wasn’t going to share with anyone. But this is life and this is part of my healthy lifestyle. I’m not going to go to one of the best Indian food places I’ve ever had and not try as much variety as I can. It’s just not my idea of living life.

Ah, the juice fasting for one day every other week. Twice last week I juiced until lunch time in an attempt to complete this goal. Twice I learned that failing to plan is planning to fail. Another part of living life.

The time I get to bed at 1030 every day of the week is the time pigs fly. I’m still trying though!

These detox baths are another one of those failing to plan is planning to fail moments.

Alright, this post is pretty straight forward. No bells and whistles or anything extra. BUT stay tuned for my week three update which is going to be very interesting for sure. I promise I won’t make you wait so long to know an update. I promise I will post my update by Monday of next week, I’ll even shot for Sunday.

It’s official. When you write about certain things that would be deemed weird or gross like poop or a menstrual cup people realllly tune in to listen. It makes my heart happy for sure…but it’s also a good laugh that my two most read posts are about some sort of bodily function that is usually taboo to speak of.

This post isn’t about anything of the sort, however.

When I first had an idea to write a blog I told my hubs that I felt like the Christian community was so broken and divided…and I really think it is. Some say church is awesome, others say it’s the devil in human form, some say drink some wine, some say don’t or you’ll surely die and while these may not be the most critical foundations of the Christian faith it does stand to make Christians as a whole look like we don’t have our crap together…at all. And thats fine because I think if there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s the power of prayer. In the same light though, I think we forget, I think we become complacent, I think we subconsciously decide we can take care of life on our own or that not everything requires prayer which is just plain wrong.

There is power and prayer. And part of what I want to do with my blog is unify us in that power praying over one another regardless of whether we agree on everything else. We need to pray for each other. We need to, for the sake of the love and grace and all that my Savior came to die for, we need to pray for each other.

I’ve asked people to contact me with prayers if need be and it’s interesting that I get very little to no responses to these requests…as if we all couldn’t use some sort of encouragement in prayer. In any case, I will continue to share prayers I know are needed as well as what may be on my heart.

Join me in the power of prayer.

Dear Lord,

We lift up these prayers to you today. We know that there is power in prayer and in You. Thank you for your love, your grace, your everything that you continue to provide over us each day. We thank you and love you for it.

Lord, today we pray for families that have been broken through manipulation and sin. We pray for those who are struggling to keep their marriages afloat and for those who are about to join in marriage. Send your guidance and wisdom to them. Help them know that your love conquers all tactics of harm from the Enemy. We pray for healing for those who are sick. Lord, for those who are having emergency surgeries or scheduled surgeries, guide the doctors, give the families peace, and may your will be done to the glory of Your name through this time. Lord, we lift up those affected by the earthquakes in Nicaragua. Keep those families safe. Turn their weariness into joy in Your name, send peace over them. We pray for the relationships in our lives. That they would glorify you. That you would help us to have grace and love towards our relationships and one another. That deep seeded resentment and anger would take no place in those relationships. Lord, help me as I prepare to study for a test for grad school…help me to be diligent in my learning and to excel at the test. Help me as I go into this chapter of life and may your will be done.

We praise you for all the wonderful crazy things you have blessed us with. For all You do, always and forever in our lives. Help us to be grateful in our lives with all you have graced us with.

We pray all these things in Your precious name, Amen.

Thanks for tuning in guys. And remember, if you need prayer, feel free to contact me.

Have you guys ever read the book Everybody Poops? It’s all about the natural process of pooping. It’s a kid’s book and it’s hilarious. It’s funny because it talks about all these different creatures that poop and how we all poop and it’s okay to poop. Side bar: Does that word make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry. You may wanna go read the book if it does, so you are a little more aquatinted with the word. Poop. Okay, moving on…. the book doesn’t touch on the deeper levels of your poop (yes, the deeper levels) and so that’s what I’m here for…sort of.

This is such a strange post.

Your poop says a lot about your overall health and it’s super important to keep your poop in check and to check your poop.

First off, what is poop? It’s all the crap (pun super intended) your body doesn’t need. After your food has been digested, poop is what is leftover and what the body can’t really do much with. Pause. Let’s read that again, after your food has been digested…so if you’re constipated and haven’t been able to poop much or regularly or easily this would tell us….. your food is not being digested very well. Right? Do you follow my logic here? It’s really quite simple. No doctors and scientists required to tell you that you should be able to digest your food easily so you can poop easily.

Second off, what is your poop telling you? Does it smell of death…cause we all know poop doesn’t smell good but it shouldn’t smell like death..this could be a sign of serious health issues. What color is it? Sometimes red poop can happen after eating beets but sometimes this can be blood and this is again, could be a sign of serious health issues. What does it look like? Lumpy? Pencil thin? You’re poop isn’t doing too hot if this is the case.

Check out this handy chart to keep an eye on your poop:

You’re aiming for Type 4. Type 4 is the lottery ticket of poop. But types 3-5 will do but really shoot for the stars here and go for 4. You don’t really need the chart. Your body knows when it’s okay and when it isn’t…really truly. We’ve all had those instances where we just know you’re gonna have to hit the bathroom hard and when it’s just normal.

Lastly, you just read the above paragraphs and you realize your poop is in some serious trouble. What are you to do? So glad you asked, let me share just a couple ways to improve your pooping potential.

I probably sound like a broken record here but switch to a real whole foods diet. Yes, if you’ve read my blog before you’ve heard this a million times but until you are eating a real foods diet I’m going to keep on saying it. These foods include all the wonderful things mother nature or God as I call him blessed you with. Not that yucky stuff manufacturers made in their factors. They typically don’t have nutrition labels or fancy boxes with cartoon characters on them. They are real foods without a laundry list of ingredients. Need an example? Avocado. What are the ingredients in a real food (organic) avocado? Avocado. So simple. So straight forward. Side bar: chose organic NON-GMO food as much as humanly possible.

But, some whole foods don’t sit well with certain people or their digestive systems so cut out your allergies and irritants. Yep, if wheat makes your poop all funky the answer is simple, cut it out of your diet. If diary makes your stomach hurt, don’t eat or drink diary.

Build up your healthy bacteria, stay active, and hydrated. You need these things for a healthy body and healthy poop. Drink water, a lot of it and if you can filter it so it doesn’t have all the nasty chemicals in it. Build up your probiotics by eating yummy delicious fermented foods. Stay active by putting down the phone, computer, everything, to just be with nature.

My last tip answers the question in the title of this blog. How do I poop? I poop in a toilet but I do so with style using my squatty potty (SQPTY). Yes, I use a thing called a squatty potty. It looks like this:

Pretty stylish eh? No, not really but it is one of the best purchases I have ever made. And what in the world does it do exactly? It puts you in an optimal pooping position so that your poop can easily flow from your body. Sounds weird but you have no idea what a world of difference it will make. Check out more info here.

If you made it to the end of this post, I am so proud, and thank you for sticking it out with me. I know the road has been tough but don’t worry, everybody poops and now you know how to poop just a little bit better.